Paula McArthur

Paula McArthur Started teaching dance for the Musical Theater Department at Drake University back in 2001. She currently is also the director of Des Moines' DanzArts Studio. Ms McArthur has decades of experience in teaching and performing many styles of dance: ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, ballroom and more. In Iowa she still performs with two professional modern companies: Hurley & Dancers under the direction of Kathleen Hurley and Fellow Traveler’s Group under the direction of choreographer Ken James and Cynthia Adams. Her latest adventures in movement training have expanded into aerial circus training with Ann Stimmel and Darker Marker Productions. Other Iowa collaborations have been with Shawn Womack professor of dance at Grinnell College, multi-performance artist Kim Fitch, Co’Motion Dance Theatre, and the Neuman Project.

Ms. McArthur graduated from Iowa State University with a BFA in Fine Arts. As a Des Moines native she worked with the Des Moines Ballet and went on to train with the Joffrey Ballet in New York and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada. Continuing her professional career in New York City and in Pennsylvania with the Pennsylvania Dance Theater, she left the ballet world and switched her passion to modern dance. With extensive work with Choreographers from San Francisco and New York companies. Paula has been also been a guest instructor at Penn State and Iowa State. Paula loves all forms of dance and is shamelessly addicted to salsa dancing.